The Wedding Ceremony

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

Alhamdulillah!My computer is fixed :)Over the weeks of its absence I have been reading a great deal and watching nature – the many-hued birds and creatures great and small that surround us here – and generally enjoying the break.

I have also been asked to perform the ceremony at the wedding of old friends. I know, it came as a shock to me too lol. It is both a delightful and humbling task. There is a lot to think about and consider. Of course, they will be married first at City Hall to make it legal, and then there will be a spiritual ceremony and wedding celebration in the lovely garden of their home.

They follow the spiritual path of Prem Rawat, also known as Maharaji, and sent me this lovely saying of his:

“This is a metaphor, but it is true: When we come into this world we’re given seeds and the question is, what will we do with these seeds? And what are these seeds? There is the seed of anger, but there is also a seed of kindness. There is a seed of love and a seed of understanding. And there is a seed of doubt and confusion. Whatever seed you have sown in your garden of life ultimately determines the tree you’re going to sit under. How restful it will be depends on what kind of seed you have sown.

… Love dances in the heart of the one who loves . . . Nurture kindness in your life, and you will be rewarded with the gift of kindness. Sow the seed of love, and you will be rewarded with that most incredible feeling of love dancing in your heart.”– Maharaji

Part of this quote will appear in the ceremony, but I would also like your help, dear friends and readers, to add further blessings and words. Please let me know in the comments what verses of the Qu’ran and other works you think might be appropriate. It is my first wedding. :)

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10 Responses to The Wedding Ceremony

Welcome back! A crashed computer is quite a trial. I actually have two laptops so that when one crashes I still have the other. It’s a nice, low stress arrangement. Reminds me of polygamy– one is always available!

Thanks for the wonderful metaphor of the seeds. I like how Maharaji takes it to its ultimate conclusion– we shall sit under the tree that grew of the seed we nourished.

We use a similar seed metaphor in Progoff’s Intensive Journal. Progoff referred to the “seed nature” of the individual. He believed that each person’s “seed nature” wants to unfold in a certain direction. Our job is to identify how this seed is supposed to grow, and then open the channels of possibility for its development.

Assalamu alaikum Dear Irving Darvish,
Alhumdulillah to have you back injecting our hearts with your wise and loving sentiments. I have emailed a few ideas as too lengthy to post here.
May Allah Ta’ala bind the happy couple with His Love and Mercy and may your role be blessed with words of Ya Haqq, Ameen.
Wassalamu alaikum

Great to see you back again brother. How wonderful to be asked to conduct a wedding ceremony. Quite a responsibility too. I like the words on marriage in Khalil Gibran, ‘The Prophet’. Does the Sufi Shaykh Javed Nurbakhsh have some appropriate words too? He has written so much, maybe there is something in his work on Sufi symbolism.

My daughter is getting married at the end of this month and I have written a blessing that I am going to read at the wedding. If you like I can email it to you – you would be welcome to use part of it if you want to.

Dearest Irving, once everybody shares more ideas with you, could you be so kind to share with all the lovely thoughts you’ve received? This is something truly beautiful and I can see you’re already taking special care in this task….may Allah illumine all who share a taste of beauty with you for this sacred event.

Dear Alexis, I have tried to find what I said at the ceremony, but cannot. It may have been deleted, unfortunately. Or maybe that is a good thing, since each ceremony should be about what you believe, and the words read from you and your husband’s own spiritual beliefs. That is the best way, I think. May God bless your union and give you a joyful life together. Ameen.